The US reaffirmed its commitment to support the maintenance of Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities, in a report outlining Washington’s security and foreign policy priorities published on Wednesday.
The US “will uphold our commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act to support Taiwan’s self-defense and to maintain our capacity to resist any resort to force or coercion against Taiwan,” the National Security Strategy report said.
It said Washington has an abiding interest in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is “critical to regional and global security and prosperity.”
Photo: REUTERS
The report calls for collaborations with European allies and partners to “play an active role in the Indo-Pacific” while “supporting freedom of navigation and maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
The US opposes any unilateral changes to the “status quo” by either side of the Taiwan Strait, the report said, adding that the US does not support Taiwan’s independence.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at a news conference the same day that the report recognized two “fundamental strategic challenges” that concern the US’ interests, including the country’s competition with China.
The focus on US interests remains central to US President Joe Biden’s foreign policy vision, he added.
The strategy document also reflects a long list of crises that has left the world facing shared challenges, including climate change, food insecurity, communicable diseases and inflation.
The document addresses the necessity of constraining Russia while competing effectively with China, which the administration has said is the only competitor that has the intent and increasing capability to reshape the international order.
Biden is dealing with increasingly assertive action by China toward Taiwan, a nearly eight-month Russian war in Ukraine that is wracking the global economy, mounting nuclear concerns in Iran and North Korea, and strained relations with oil-rich Saudi Arabia.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that some items from the US’ proposed Taiwan policy act relating to security in the Taiwan Strait have been included in the US National Defense Authorization Act for the next fiscal year, the ministry’s Department of North American Affairs Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典) said.
The draft bill, which was passed by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Sept. 14, has not yet undergone deliberation by the US Senate and House of Representatives.
Hsu said that questions remain about the Taiwan policy act, such as how it would expedite the sale of US arms to Taiwan, help Taiwan and the US respond to “gray zone” tactics by China and help Taiwan enhance its combat capabilities.
“However, we are very happy to see the friendliness toward Taiwan shown by the US Congress, shown through visits to Taipei and specific legislative actions,” he said. “We hope that bilateral ties continue to be strengthened, and that bipartisan support for Taiwan in the US continues to increase.”
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